Welcome to our site. Here's a link to some of out Most Popular Posts
If you like what you see why not subscribe to our RSS feed. You can also help us by bookmarking this page with any of the buttons at the bottom of each article. Follow us on Twitter for travel deals and travel related news, questions and conversations. Thanks for visiting!
Even as airlines across the world experience troubles thanks to economic woes and increases in fuel prices, we are still excited about getting more A380 super jumbo planes into service, and so are the airlines that have ordered them. Since the first A380 commercial flight from Singapore Airlines a year or so back, we have been tempted by talk of taking a shower on board an Emirates A380 or having internet access on a Qantas A380.
Where Are All the A380s?
But getting on board an A380 is still a rarity, and there have been significant delays in their production so some airlines have waited almost two years for their promised planes. After Singapore Airlines got their first one, they have subsequently taken delivery of five more A380s and are definitely the most experienced in flying with them.
Australian carrier Qantas received their first A380 last month, amongst much fanfare. It will be used on flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles. Emirates got theirs a few months back and have now been told by Airbus that their second A380 will be delivered in just a couple of weeks, on October 24. They use the A380 to fly between Dubai and New York. They are also expecting second and third planes to be finished and delivered by the end of the year, with a fifth one in January 2009.
There are plenty of other airlines still waiting - not so patiently - for their first A380 to be finished. Air France and Lufthansa expect to be getting their first planes during 2009, and Kingfisher Airlines, Korean Air and Thai Airways should be the next airlines to fly the super jumbo. But with firm orders for 58 aircraft, Emirates is the airline planning to make the most use of the new design.
What’s So Good About the A380?
Apart from being the largest aircraft for commercial passenger use, the A380 has a bunch of other innovative features. Airlines are most excited about having a lot more floor space inside the aircraft - 50% more than a Boeing 747 - which means there is the potential to have a lot more passengers on board, and also to design the space in different ways - hence the Emirates idea with the showers. For us passengers, some of the other key benefits of the new aircraft are 50% less cabin noise and a higher cabin air pressure, meaning we might feel a bit better when we arrive at our destination.
photo credit: Aalok Gaitonde
Digg
Mixx
Reddit
Kirtsy
Newsvine
Facebook
RSS
